Chapala City Hall building where on February 28th the councilmen approved the 7.9 million pesos debt.
Arturo Ortega (Chapala).- The Chapala City Council approved a debt of 7,912,060 pesos (about US$378,000) plus interest to fund public works in priority areas of the municipality, during the sixth ordinary council session held on February 28.
The debt, to be paid over a period of three years, will be contracted with the banking institution that submits the proposal with the lowest interest rate. This debt will finance public works specified in the catalog of actions established in the guidelines of the Contribution Fund for Social Infrastructure (FAIS) issued by the Welfare Secretariat.
Prior to the approval of the proposal, the Mayor of Chapala, Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel, explained that the resources will be invested in infrastructure projects including drainage, potable water, education and street rehabilitation works, which are considered a priority in Ajijic and Atotonilquillo.
Translated by MaryAnne Marble
After a pruning, CFE personnel left the branches in the creek of Las Garzas street in La Cristina Photo: Sofía Medeles
Sofía Medeles(Ajijic).– Residents of La Cristina, a neighborhood located to the west of Ajijic, denounced the lack of cleanup work after the mudslides of October 2021.
The complaints are mainly related to the silting of the creek on Las Garzas Street, in addition to the pruning work carried out 15 days ago by Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) personnel, which left the branches in the creek.
Other problems mentioned by affected residents were the spillage of sewage into the stream, and the encroachment on private property of debris from the landslide left by state cleanup crews after clearing.
«They have not cleaned the street well, nor the creek. With the sewage spill and the garbage dump left by the CFE workers, it is obvious that they do not pay attention to this side of town,» commented one of the inhabitants of La Cristina.
The person in charge of the office, Maximiliano Macias Arceo, acknowledged responsibility and said that they had been made aware of the problems from complaints that they have received.
«We are aware of the encroachment of debris on private property, as well as in the creek. In the next few days, we will carry out the necessary survey to file an official report so that crews and equipment will be sent to clean La Cristina, as well as the many streams that need to be cleared in the western zone of the township. We are going to work fast, to ensure that the creeks are cleared before the rainy season arrives to prevent further tragedy,» shared Macías Arceo.
Finally, regarding the sewage spill, Macías Arceo gave assurances that both he and the Department of Ecology are already attending to the problem. He also provided the telephone number that the public can use to report complaints of this type: 376-765-8025.
Translated by Rebecca Zittle
Gasolinera ubicada a bordo de carretera.
Alma Serrano.- Desde el pasado 11 de febrero la gasolinera “KPetrom”, ubicada sobre la carretera Chapala-Jocotepec, a la altura del crucero de San Juan Cosalá, permanece fuera de servicio debido a huelga de los trabajadores por violación de contrato.
De acuerdo con el oficio colocado en las máquinas despachadoras, el sindicato de trabajadores y empleados en la rama de comercio en el estado de Jalisco se expuso que, por acuerdo de la asamblea general extraordinaria, la totalidad de los trabajadores que pertenecen a la empresa han acordado Emplazar a Huelga en cumplimiento con lo que demandan los artículos 920, 18, 782, 827, 921 de la Ley Federal del Trabajo.
Como los propietarios aparece Bransle, S. de R.L. de C.V. que se dedica a la compra-venta y distribución de gasolinas diésel, con número de estación de servicio E11757 y con número de permiso PL/9296/EXP/ES/2015, cuyo representante legal es José Carlos Martín Gonzáles.
María Guadalupe Urzúa Flores was twice mayor of Jocotepec.
The Jalisco State Congress will recognize María Guadalupe Urzúa Flores, from Jocotepec, and Martha Rodríguez García, from Chapala, with the «Hermila Galindo Acosta» award on March 8th, International Women’s Day.
The Commission for Substantive and Gender Equality of the Congress of the State of Jalisco approved honoring ten women from the state, and one civic organization, for their actions in favor of women’s human rights through teaching and research, public service, art and culture, health, gender equality, or civic advocacy.
María Guadalupe Urzúa Flores will receive this distinction post mortem. She was a woman who did not think of herself. Although she did not have material wealth, nor did she marry, she dedicated her entire life to the service of others.
Among her actions as mayor of Jocotepec for two terms were overseeing the installation of cobblestone streets, water wells, roads, electricity, a sports courts, a library, a women’s training academy, a night literacy school for adult men and women, a hospital, the leprosarium, the «Pedro Ogazón» elementary school, the «Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla» high school, and the current regional high school.
Urzua Flores was a friend of several presidents of the republic and governors of Jalisco. She was the first federal deputy for Jalisco from 1955 to 1958 and she was elected to four federal deputies, which allowed the needs of the people to be heard through her voice and her administration.
She was also mayor of San Martin de Hidalgo and managed to establish a high school, recognized by the University of Guadalajara.
Another Lakeside woman who will also be recognized on March 8th is Martha Rodríguez García. She is an environmental leader and representative of the rural Lakeside community. She has committed herself to the defense of the environment, rural values and traditions of her community. Her skills and talents were recognized when she was elected as President of the Commissariat of her town in Santa Cruz de la Soledad, municipality of Chapala.
Martha Rodríguez warns all that the growth of an urban development and tourism model is occupying the spaces of the agricultural territories worked by the “ejido” or communal landowners and indigenous people. They have been displaced by real estate and by external interests that are alien to the traditional communal structure. The social fabric of her ejido was damaged because of new real estate development projects.
From her position as an ejido communal landowner, Martha took on the task of compiling a documentary file that traced the history of the community from the endowment of land in 1919, its expansion in 1925 to include164 hectares. 145 of those hectares belong to the Cerro del Junco, a hill that is home to important species of flora and fauna, and from whose summit the Colima Volcano can be seen.
With this documentation in hand, Martha has undertaken defending the heritage of her community. She has worked to decree the land as a Natural Protected Area, guaranteeing that the ejido’s will will be followed. She also has worked for the integration of an Ecological Land Management Plan for the Lake Chapala Lakeshore in the hope it will attract projects, such as those developed with technical assistance and support from Aipromades Lago de Chapala, obtain funding from the United Nations Development Program for the restoration of Cerro del Junco, and the participation of the Coca-Cola Foundation and Arca Continental as partners in the project.
Translated by Colleen Beery
El alcalde de Chapala, Alejandro Aguirre Curiel, junto a la diputada Claudia Murguía Torres y el Jefe de Gabinete Estatal, Hugo Luna, donde se le informó que su gestión había sido aprobada.
Redacción. – El alcalde de Chapala, Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel, anunció a través de redes sociales la aprobación del proyecto de Renovación de Imagen Urbana para la Avenida Principal de Chapala, en el cual se pretende cambiar el adoquín y sustituirlo por cemento hidráulico, además de rehabilitación las banquetas y machuelos.
“Me es muy grato informar que después de presentar proyectos de trabajo en conjunto con el Gobierno de Jalisco y municipio; y gracias a la gestión de la diputada Claudia Murguía Torres, hoy el Jefe de Gabinete Estatal, Hugo Luna, me ha confirmado que se aceptaron los proyectos”, publicó en redes sociales el alcalde de Chapala, luego de su visita a Guadalajara con el Jefe de Gabinete del Estado de Jalisco, Hugo Luna, y la diputada Claudia Murguía Torres.
“Uno de los proyectos más importantes que se pudieron gestionar fue la renovación de la imagen urbana de la Av. Madero, el adoquín será sustituido por concreto hidráulico, además de que las banquetas y machuelos serán reemplazados”, agregó Aguirre Curiel en su publicación del 2 de marzo.
En su mensaje también agradeció al Gobernador del Estado de Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro Ramírez y aseguró que “con este apoyo y trabajo coordinado nuestra ciudad y delegaciones serán las más beneficiadas, para contar con una mejor infraestructura que sea un referente de turismo en el Estado”.
Por su parte, el municipio está en espera de la Secretaría de Infraestructura y Obra Pública (SIOP) del Estado de Jalisco, envíe el proyecto, el cual será adaptado por la dependencia estatal a las necesidades de la población, informó la directora de Comunicación Social del Ayuntamiento de Chapala, Elizabeth Oropeza.
Full cesto destined for the Ajijic Recycling Center.
Patrick O’Heffernan (Ajijic).– In a meeting between Esther Parada of the Ajijic Recycling Center and Chapala Council members and officials Thursday, March 3, the municipalidad agreed to reactivate the government committee needed to move head with the steps required for full operation of the recycling center.
The Center is currently operating at reduced capacity because its compactor – a machine needed to reduce the recycled materials for transportation to market – has not been installed and connected to electric power. The Recycling Committee will be able to address this and other needs of the Center when it is appointed.
“Yes, we want to see a strong recycling program in Ajijic,” Director of Ecology María Guadalupe Vázquez Solano told Laguna in an interview the day before the meeting, indicating that the next step was reconstituting the recycling committee.
This will be the third attempt to operate a robust recycling program in Ajijic; the last one was stymied by the previous administration. A current sticking point has been the ownership of the building, a former military training center, and the fact that it never received an address. Without an address CFE cannot set up an account to run electricity to the building to operate the Center’s compactor, bought 18 months ago with donated funds.
According to Recycling Center officials the compactor is critical for the transportation of plastics to market. Currently they are trucked to Guadalajara in small batches which is very expensive; a compactor would make transportation up to ten times more efficient, according to Recycling center leaders. Additionally they want to ensure that they have full ownership even after the compactor is installed as part of a new agreement to use the building.
Vázquez Solano told Laguna that the government is working on the problem of an address and the delay has simply been because of logistics – many steps needed. She also told Laguna that the government intends to provide the Recycling Center with an agreement that specifies that it owns the equipment, including the compactor, clearing the way for its installation.
The meeting included General Secretary Lilia Alvarado Macías, Councilman Jesús González Amezcua, Acting Ajijic Delegate Maximiliano Macías Arceo , Director of Tourism Paola de Watterlot , Ajijic Recycling Center Representative Esther Parada, and Ecology Director María Guadalupe Vázquez Solano.
In addition to the administration’s moving ahead with the Recycling Committee , Chapala President Aguirre reinforced his commitment to the Chapala environment at a meeting Thursday, March 3, with the Secretary of Environment and Territorial Development, Sergio Graf Montero to discuss an Organic waste separation project. Creation of an Integral System of Intermunicipal Waste Management (SIMARI), cooperation with CONAGUA and SEMADET to solve the problem of green algae in Lake Chapala, and setting up links to generate the breeding and growth of different types of fish in Lake Chapala.
Luego de una poda, personal de la CFE dejó las ramas en el arroyo de la calle Las Garzas en La Cristina. Foto: Sofía Medeles.
Sofía Medeles.- Vecinos de La Cristina, barrio ubicado al poniente de la delegación de Ajijic, denunciaron falta de atención de las autoridades en cuanto a las labores de limpieza tras los deslaves de octubre de 2021.
Las quejas son principalmente por el azolve del arroyo de la calle Las Garzas, aunado a un trabajo de poda que realizó hace 15 días el personal de la Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) y que dejaron las ramas en el cauce.
Otro de los problemas mencionados por los afectados fue el derrame de aguas negras al arroyo, así como la invasión de un predio particular con residuos del deslave colocados por maquinaria del estado tras los primeros trabajos de limpieza.
“No han limpiado bien la calle, ni el arroyo. Con lo de la tira de aguas negras y el basurero que dejaron los trabajadores de la CFE, se nota que no ponen atención para este lado”, comentó una de las habitantes de La Cristina.
Por su parte, el encargado de despacho, Maximiliano Macías Arceo, reconoció que son trabajos que sí les corresponden y de los cuales están al tanto, debido a las quejas que les han hecho llegar.
“Estamos al tanto del caso del predio con arrastre y el arroyo en la misma situación. En estos días iremos a realizar el levantamiento correspondiente, para poder hacer el oficio, y las maquinarias puedan venir a hacer la limpieza de La Cristina, así como de muchos arroyos que necesitan ser desazolvados en la zona poniente de la delegación. Vamos a trabajar rápido, para evitar que llegue el tiempo de las aguas primero y puedan ocasionar una tragedia”, compartió Macías Arceo.
Finalmente, en cuanto al derramamiento, el funcionario aseguró que tanto él como el Departamento de Ecología ya están atendiendo la problemática. Asimismo, compartió el número 376 765 8025 para las denuncias de este tipo.
By Patrick O’Heffernan
By now, you have probably heard of Paola Schietekat Sedas, a Mexican citizen working for the World Cup Organizing Committee in Qatar. If you haven’t heard about her, it is an appalling story with a warning for the soccer loving world, especially Mexicans.
Schietekat Sedas had to be spirited out of Qatar on June 25 last year after being raped by one if her fellow World Cup staffers, a Columbian. She reported the rape to the police the next day, accompanied by the Mexican Consul. When asked by the police if she wanted to press charges, on the advice of the Counsel, she said yes. That’s where things got appalling.
She went from victim to criminal, charged with the crime of sex outside of marriage. The police demanded she take a virginity test (after being raped???) and demanded to search her phone for romantic messages with the rapist or anyone else. She was arrested and charged with extramarital relations, a crime punishable by 100 lashes and 7 years in prison.
She was released pending trial, and the World Cup Organizing Committee snuck her out of the country. The Mexican Foreign Ministry will defend her at trial in absentia, but, needless to say, she’s not coming back to her job. She also noted that the Mexican Embassy in Qatar had no Arab speakers and no knowledge of Qatari law and could not be helpful.
The incident is a warning to anyone, especially Mexicans, who plan to attend the World Cup. If you were thinking of spending an exciting week sharing a hotel room with your girlfriend or boyfriend seeing the Cup live, forget it – 100 lashes and 7 years in prison. If you are gay, 3 years in jail. No kissing, drinking, dancing, hugging, or shorts in public.
How did a country that treats women like a cross between livestock and sex slaves, that jails gay people, that brutally whips girls who are raped, get the world Cup in the First Place? According to the US Justice Department, they did it with massive bribes to FIFA officials.
After years of investigations into corruption, abuse of migrant workers and women and other human rights crimes, on April 6, 2020, the Justice Department indicted three media executives and a sports marketing company for bribing FIFA officials. How much money are we talking about? A cool $400 million was offered to FIFA for “broadcasting rights” 21 days before FIFA announced that Qatar will hold the 2022 World Cup.
So here we are, 7 months from the Cup; a Mexican woman is on trial for the crime of being raped and threatened with a brutal, potentially fatal beating and 7 years in jail, and a Mexican Embassy unequpped to deal with local authorities and whose advice got her indicted.
The Mexican government needs to shape up and step in.
The President should issue a warning to its citizens not to attend the World Cup, especially if they are single, gay, or a male looking for a good time (no prostitutes and booze only in your hotel or a restricted fan area) or a married or single woman who can be raped with impunity and beaten and jailed for reporting it. Other Latin countries should issue the same warning. Defending Schietekat Sedas in the Qatar kangaroo court is a good first step, but México needs to train the Embassy staff in Qatar to protect its citizens from a vicious 12th century government.
Westerners attending the World Cup will be abused by the Qatar government; it is their law and their culture. Unwitting gays, cohabiting couples, and errant beer drinkers will be caught and punished, some violently. It is inevitable, given Schietekat Sedas’s treatment. The Mexican government needs to honor Schietekat Sedas by telling its citizens and those of other Latin countries don’t attend the World Cup. It’s on TV here with beer, tequila and your significant other.
Fue el pasado 9 de febrero cuando más de 60 habitantes de El Chante se manifestaron por las obras de conexión de un nuevo desarrollo inmobiliario a su pozo de agua. Foto: Archivo.
Héctor Ruiz Mejía.- Aún no hay resolución. Los diálogos entre el Ayuntamiento de Jocotepec y los habitantes de El Chante continúan tras las inconformidades por la conexión al pozo de agua de la comunidad a un nuevo desarrollo habitacional.
El pasado lunes 28 de febrero, las dos partes se volvieron a reunir por segunda ocasión; en representación del gobierno acudieron, el síndico municipal, Carlos Alberto Zúñiga Chacón, así como el secretario general, Rogelio Ramos Pérez y Felipe Aguilar Montes de Oca, director de comunicación social.
Los habitantes de El Chante explicaron que la documentación que les fue entregada en la reunión del 14 de febrero, donde se aseguraba la “legitimidad” del polémico desarrollo Ribera Capital Living S.A.P.I de C.V., no era suficiente.
Por lo que aún no se llegó a un acuerdo para permitir reiniciar las obras de conexión de las redes hidrosanitarias y quedó pactada una última reunión, la cual, aseguró Montes de Oca, aún no se tiene programada la fecha.
Habitantes de la comunidad ribereña exigieron que, esta vez se les entregara un documento foliado o en hoja membretada por el Ayuntamiento y no el machote “rápido” que entregó la Dirección de Obras Públicas de Jocotepec en el pasado concilio.
Aunado a los permisos correspondientes, Felipe Aguilar informó que se formalizará un estudio hidráulico en el que los ingenieros especializados socializarán el proyecto y resolverán las dudas de la población, así como la especificación del recurso ejercido.
Para representar a la comunidad de El Chante se conformará un comité de cinco integrantes, quienes estarán a cargo de supervisar que toda la documentación esté en orden, así como el que se respeten los acuerdos entre ambas partes y que se ejecuten al pie de la letra.
“Nos quieren decir una cosa y marearnos, pero aquí todos somos albañiles, le sabemos a esto”, comentaron habitantes entrevistados.
Stephen W. Heffernan. New York 8023 Subway, part of the show at Emma’s Deli.
Patrick O’Heffernan (Ajijic).-Ajijic resident Stephen W. Heffernan (no relation) opened a show of his Street Life in New York City in the 1970’s at Emma’s Deli, a series if fine black and white photographic prints showing not only the quirks and personalities of the streets of the US’s largest city, but the almost infinite greyscale graduations of his Ansel-Adams-influenced exposure, developing and printing process, now forgotten in the digital photo age.
Heffernan has traveled the world, especially Latin America and Cuba, taking photographs of street life in the style of the legendary Edward Weston. His photos have been displayed in galleries and museums, including the Fototeca de Cuba in Havana. His many series include street life and scenes from Europe, México, Namibia, Nicaaragua, South Africa , the USA, and Cuba.
“During the 1970’s I learned to make fine prints, guided by the classic books of Ansel Adams and delving into the history of photography,” says Heffernan, noting that “ Edward Weston was my first inspiration but, aesthetically my eye was drawn to the renowned European photojournalists and ‘street’ photographers. This show reflects that influence.”
The photographs displayed at Emma’s Deli have been curated from the earliest period of his 50-year career. The show will be up for three months Emma’s Deli is at Ramon Colon #5, Ajijic.
© 2016. Todos los derechos reservados. Semanario de la Ribera de Chapala